Alison Buehler is a tireless cheerleader for people who are ready to change their lives, share the power of story with children, and impact their communities. She has worked as a special education teacher, a farmer, a small business owner, and a director of two nonprofit organizations. Her first book, Rethinking Women’s Health, published by Sartoris Literary Group, led her into a writing and teaching career centered around the power of transformation. Alison teaches during retreats at her nonprofit, The Homestead Center, and at a local community center. She also hosts dozens of online workshops and participates in podcasts regularly. She is available to speak to schools or community organizations in person, or can speak with reading and writing groups via Skype or telephone. You can find her at www.thehomesteadcenter.com or on her author site at www.alisonbuehler.com. She lives with her husband and three children, chickens, goats, and bees in Starkville, Mississippi.

Alison's AMAZING Communications Director, Christine Little

christinglittle28@gmail.com

Contact Christine to set up workshop, presentation, or retreat dates.

Or email her Communications Director, Christine Little at christinelittle28@gmail.com

To learn more about her latest project: Tall Tales for Small People, a children's fantasy series designed to empower kids with kindness, courage, and the power of literacy, follow the link.

SCHOOL AND CHILDREN'S LIBRARY VISITS

Dr. Buehler is particularly interested in presenting her interactive workshops with schools and children's libraries in Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana, and Tennessee. Click Here for more Info.

"This presenter was one of the best speakers I have heard on the wellness topic. I enjoyed her presentation very much and have even purchased her book to learn more. Thank you." - Participant at IWIN (International Women's Inclusion Network) Presentation, "Why Wellness is Revolutionary."

Alison Buehler says she's written stories since about the third grade. "My mom was the children's librarian at my elementary school and stories were always a big part of our life." But, she saw herself as a teacher for most of her early career. "Writing was something you did for fun. Teaching was something useful and a great way to make the world better."

Alison taught special education for several years after earning her Bachelor's of Science from the University of Southern Mississippi while she worked on her masters degree at The University of Arizona. She came home to Mississippi to put what she had learned into practice in the toughest spot she could find. She says, "I was young and idealistic, so I thought I should teach in Jackson, Mississippi's alternative school. It was a real eye-opener on what kids need in order to succeed. Until that point, I thought a good curriculum and a good teacher could change kids. I realized how powerful the effects of poverty and poor nutrition were on kids."

During this time, Alison met and married her husband, Dr. Michael Buehler. They have been partners in making their communities stronger and healthier ever since. "Mike has always supported my efforts and my need to help in the world. He was about to start his residency in Knoxville, Tennessee, so I signed up to work on my doctoral degree in Educational Leadership."

The couple had two children there and decided to move home to be closer to grandparents. "It was really my children who helped me see how important health was to learning and overall wellbeing," said Alison. "I took a step back from schools to have time for them and focussed on bringing resources and education to our community."

Mike and Alison founded Gaining Ground Sustainability Institute of Mississippi to foster awareness of and bring about practices of sustainable farming, improved nutrition, and alternative energy. "Mississippi is perfect for growing food year-round, but our state was spending 75% of our food money out of state. That wasn't good for our health or our economy. Gaining Ground set out to promote local solutions and we have succeeded to a large degree. When we moved home we had to order almost everything healthy from somewhere else. Now, I can get almost everything I need from a farmer I know and trust."

Alison used her professional skills as a researcher to solve her own health problems with her debut book, Rethinking Women's Health. She dug deeply into women who were finding non-traditional answers to common female health problems. "I was like a savant for two years," Buehler said. "I just kept finding and interviewing women who found their own health solutions to so many common problems, and they all pointed to similar things no matter what disease or condition you were talking about: diet and lifestyle were the keys to wellness."

Once that book was published, Alison said she finally realized she could combine her two great loves: writing and teaching. "I decided I could reach a whole lot more people through blogging and books than I could in person. I also reached an age where I just didn't care if I was a "good writer," as long as I had something valuable to share." Since that time she has released Growing the Good Life: Lessons in Gardening, Parenting, Health, and Meaningful Living and a children's book that helps kids deal with scary things in the world like war and violence called The Healing Touch.

Her latest project was encouraged by her oldest son, Max, who told his mom she should do something with those stories she wrote for the kids years ago. "When my boys, and later my daughter, were little they wanted action and fantasy like Harry Potter, but they were too young for that level of violence and language. So, I started to write our own stories." The Tall Tales for Small People series was born years ago, but I never did anything with them. They were personal. I told and retold them to my kids at night. But when Max encouraged me, I decided to try and find exactly the right illustrator to bring them to life, and they are awesome!"

Buehler will spend the coming year sharing her first two Tall Tales books with schools and libraries all over Mississippi. "They are patterned fantasy series where siblings encounter a real-life childhood problem like bullying, not sharing, or leaving kids out, and they go into a fantasy world to solve it." The initial reviews have been extremely positive and Alison says she cannot wait to share them with families. "These are modern-day fairy tales that teach important life lessons. I want to empower kids to be courageous and kind through the magic of shared story."